Stage 1 - May 10: Lecce, 201 km

Big breakthrough win for Petacchi

Cipollini just didn't have it today

It's been a long time coming, but finally, Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo)
had the career breakthrough win he's been working towards for years. "It's the
most beautiful day of my life," said a stunned Petacchi as he began to realize
what he had accomplished by winning the first stage of 86th Giro d'Italia in
Lecce. "To get the Maglia Rosa, beat Mario with his world champions jersey and
win like this - I couldn't ask for anything more."

29 year old Petacchi scored his first stage win ever in the Giro d'Italia.
The speedster from La Spezia had won six out of six sprints this year but his
seventh denied Mario Cipollini the win and delayed Mario's 41st stage win that
will tie Alfredo Binda's Giro win record.

"I want to break my tabu with a win," explained Petacchi yesterday. He's been
second three times in Giro stages and has beaten Cipollini in head to head sprints,
but Petacchi has had problems in the past with winning when the pressure was
on. Five years ago, Cipo comfortably won the stage on the same finish in Lecce,
but today, Petacchi was more than ready for the challenge and easily came around
the 36 year old Cipo for the win.

Petacchi's Fassa Bortolo team made the difference for the sometime timid Tuscan
sprinter, who simply doesn't like the rough action in the final. Petacchi tearfully
thanked his teammates for making the difference today. "I was in bad position
with a kilometre and a half to go, but Velo and Trenti did a great job of putting
me on Cipollini's wheel.

Petacchi has been knocking on the door for several year and has been highly
touted as the heir apparent to Cipo's top sprinter crown, and today with his
35th career win, the quiet, serious Fassa Bortolo rider showed that he might
be just that.

Mario and his thundering herd of zebras from Domina Vacanze didn't have a
great day at the office today in Lecce. With all the curves and turns in the
tight final five kilometres, Cipo's treno got derailed in the last two kilometres.
When the tempo slowed at a crucial point, Domina rider Mario Scirea had to charge
back to the front to up the pace and keep control of the front of the race for
Cipo. Mario's final leadout man Lombardi came into the last curve with 200m
to go flat out, but it wasn't really a great finish for Cipo.

After the stage, the World Champion refused to blame his team for the surprising
loss. "It wasn't the (Domina) team that didn't work today, it was Cipollini.
When I made my move (with 200m to go) I just didn't have it...but I'm happy
that Petacchi could win", said the clearly disappointed World Champion. "Perhaps
the rest I took before the Giro slowed me down a bit," said Cipo, who hadn't
raced since Gent-Wevelgem a month ago.

Petacchi's Fassa Bortolo teammate and Cyclingnews diarist Guido Trenti was
also delighted with today's result; he told us after the stage that "Today was
a great payback (to Cipo) for me."

Trenti was one of Cipo's key leadout men at Acqua & Sapone last season and
was hired away by Fassa Bortolo to lead out Petacchi this season. "(Fassa) had
a tough time in the sprint today since Petacchi got caught behind with 5km to
go, but (Marco) Velo and I managed to bring him up to Cipo. Then I came back
up to Petacchi with 500m to go and he said he was feeling good...so I got on
his wheel for a while to try and protect him from the other sprinters. I think
(Domina) went from too far out today and with the all tough curves at the end
they lost control of the race. Still, Lombardi did a great job and his leadout
was perfect but Cipo didn't have it today."

How it unfolded

Just after noon, on a hot sunny day, the 86th Giro d'Italia commenced with
Stage 1 from Lecce to Lecce. It was a fairly flat circuit around Salento, also
known as the heel of the Italian boot. This was the first Grand Tour in the
history of cycling where hardshell helmets were mandatory and 169 riders began
Stage 1 so clad. Only one rider didn't start today; Ruggero Marzoli (Alessio)
was suffering from exhaustion and told his D.S. this morning that he couldn't.

With the temps in the low 90's and bright sun, the Giro plotone crept around
the heel of the boot and the first three hours were run at an average of 35km/hr.
Cyclingnews spoke to Vittorio Algeri of Vini Caldirola-SoDi in his team car
to see what was up on Stage 1 of the Giro.

"All the teams are trying to avoid the problems of the first few days, especially
the crashes," said Algeri. But when the TV cameras came on and the Intergiro
sprint approached in Otranto, CCC-Polsat's big sprinter Naudusz took the sprint,
then things continued to heat up under the hot Salento sun as the finish in
Lecce approached.

Fair-haired Dane Frank Høj (fakta-Pata Chips) and neo-Cristiano Frattini (Tenax)
took off in a break, but the sprinters teams allowed them less than a minute
of liberty with 30 km to go, but with Domina and Lotto riding tempo, the two
fugitives were sucked up with 12 km to race. The tempo increased and as Cipo's
Domina team dominating the front, lining up Scirea, Ongarato, Colombo, Bennati,
Lombardi and the World Champ, there was a mad struggle for Mario's wheel.

Alessio's Angelo Furlan, Kelme's compact Isaac Galvez and the two tough Aussies
Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) and Graeme Brown (Panaria) were all battling for
SuperMario's slipstream on the streets of Lecce, but Fassa Bortolo's determined
Trenti and Velo managed to put their man Petacchi in the right place at the
right time and the rest was history. Maglia Rosa to Petacchi with Cipo still
seeking his destiny on the roads of the 86th Giro d'Italia.

Stage 2 - May 11: Copertino-Matera

Another day for the sprinters at the Giro, with a run west near the Ionian
Sea, through the olive groves and flat rocky countryside of southern Puglia,
then into the grim industrial city of Taranto. With 22km to go, the percorso
hangs a right up the first GPM, a steep, straight climb to Montescaglioso. Look
for local man Elio Aggiano (Formaggio Pinzolo Fiave') to go for the honours
here. Stage 2 then descends and climbs gradually up to Matera, where Cipo will
try to turn the tables on Petacchi in the final sprint, which is 500m with a
slight uphill gradient of 3%.